Excellent Application Technology
As one of the leading suppliers of tantalum and niobium metal powders and compounds, we are a reliable partner for customers from all industrial sectors. Our products are characterized by their consistently high quality. With our experience and expertise in application technology, we can provide engineered product solutions to your demanding, technically challenging and unique requirements. We provide high-quality tantalum and niobium in four main product groups: metal powders, oxides, alloys additives, and compounds and chlorides.
Oxalates
Our product range features a comprehensive spectrum of tantalum and niobium compounds adapted for a wide variety of applications and markets. Our tantalum and niobium oxalate solutions are completely soluble compounds that can be used for mixtures at atomic level. These mixtures are applied for example in the production of catalytic converters and electroceramics. Another example for oxalates is our niobium ammonium oxalate. In multilayered ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) NAmOx is used to increase capacity. Doping the dielectric material barium titanate with NAmOx positively affects the capacity's dependence on temperature. This supports the trend toward miniaturization of electrical end devices by allowing optimum use of existing space. NAmOx is also used as a dopant in the ferrite industry to increase the magnetic conductivity.
Niobates
Niobates are inorganic compounds that contain niobium, another metallic element and oxygen. These powders are applied for piezoelectric materials. To meet the needs of numerous applications, we provide a wide variety of niobium compounds. Our niobate product group includes magnesium niobate and potassium niobate, among others.
Niobates are used as a dopant for piezo ceramics (lead zirconate titanate) in the production of piezo actuators, for example. Electronically controlled piezo actors are used in high-pressure diesel injection systems to ensure considerably more efficient and trouble-free handling along with lower emission values. Magnesium niobate is a main component in piezoelectric lead magnesium niobate – lead titanate.
Chlorides
The Chloride production is one of our specialties. We market our chloride powders under the brand name AMPERTEC®. Our chlorides are characterized by a larger particle size, which provides improved material flow characteristics. Moreover, this implies less dust formation and an improved storage capability due to a lower rate of hydrolysis.
Our AMPERTEC® chlorides are the purest chlorides currently available on the market and highly reactive. This characteristic is applied in various high-tech applications.
The main application of the "Highest Purity" AMPERTEC® tantalum or niobium pentachloride is its direct use as an ultrapure CVD precursor. The production of microprocessors and memory chips requires special ALD/CVD precursors made from our “Semiconductor “chlorides.
Moreover, so-called MMO anodes with ruthenium and iridium oxides coatings are doped with tantalum oxide (MMO – mixed metal oxide.) Tantalum pentachloride is highly reactive and dissolves completely and without residue in the solutions used for the anode coating. The MMO anodes with corrosion-resistant electrically conductive coatings are used in electrolysis. Examples are the electrolysis application, e. g. for metal coating in the electronic industry or in desalination facilities for ocean water.